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Garage Europa-Porsche Center Exhibiting Replica of 919 Hybrid Race Car

By on May 25, 2016

SAN JUAN–Local Porsche distributor Garage Europa-Porsche Center has taken delivery of a full-scale replica of the 2015 winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, the Porsche 919 Hybrid.

The replica of last year’s winner of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), which arrived from Perú, was placed in the dealership’s showroom, where it will be on display for the general public to enjoy through early August.

Porsche 919 Hybrid

Porsche 919 Hybrid

For Víctor Gómez III, president of Garage Europa-Porsche Center and of Gómez Hermanos Kennedy LLC, having the replica on premises is a unique opportunity for Porsche and race car enthusiasts alike to see up close and personal the most efficient and complex competition race car ever built by the Stuttgart-based German sports car manufacturer.

After 395 laps and over 3,300 miles covered, Porsche claimed last year its record seventeenth overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was also Porsche’s fourth one-two (first and second place) victory in the history of its assault on the famous endurance race.

Between 1970 and 1998, Porsche won the Le Mans 16 times. After a 16-year absence, Porsche returned to the Le Mans race in 2014 with the 919 Hybrid, capturing second place, and with Audi taking the checkered flag.     

“Everything that Porsche does to participate and lead in automotive sports has one important goal: to transfer the technology and the knowledge gained to our vehicles, so that our clients can enjoy the best experiences behind the wheel of a Porsche vehicle,” Gómez III said.

Orlando Pérez, sales manager at Garage Europa-Porsche Center, explained the Porsche 919 Hybrid is powered by a super efficient 2.0-liter V4 turbocharged engine, rated at 500 horsepower (hp) that drives the rear axle.

porsche-919-hybrid-When the driver recalls the stored energy from the car’s lithium-ion battery, an additional 400 hp drives the front axle. This way the Porsche 919 Hybrid temporarily turns into a four-wheel drive car with around 1,000 hp system performance, Pérez said.

During the Le Mans race, the Porsche 919 Hybrid recuperated and used 2.22 kWh (8 megajoules) per lap. If it was a power plant, a family home could be supplied with electricity for three months.

On Saturday June 18, on the eve of Father’s Day, Garage Europa-Porsche Center will be broadcasting the 2016 Le Mans race live on a giant screen inside its showroom.

Porsche clients and the general public are invited to attend and watch the race as well as appreciate the Porsche 919 Hybrid replica up close. There will be refreshments, test drives and entertainment for small kids during the event.

The display of the Porsche 919 Hybrid replica car and the Le Mans race event is part of Porsche’s efforts to bring back the automaker’s motorsports heritage to the limelight, Pérez explained.

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